Vincent Crane

Vincent Rodney Cheesman - who was born on May 21st, 1943, in Reading, Berkshire, England - was a British songwriter and keyboardist, best-known as the organist in the bands The Crazy World of Arthur Brown and Atomic Rooster.  As a teenager, he taught himself boogie-woogie piano, before attending Trinity College of Music in London between 1961 and 1964.  Influenced by Graham Bond, he took up playing the Hammond Organ.  In late 1966, Crane founded the Vincent Crane Combo, in which he teamed-up with bass player Binky McKenzie, saxophone player John Claydon, and drummer Gordon Hadler.  In 1967, he joined forces with Arthur Brown in his own band, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown.  Their debut album in 1968, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, contained the song Fire, which was co-written by Crane, and reached no. 1 in the U.K. singles chart, as well as topping the charts in the U.S.A.and Canada.  During the band's first tour of the United States in 1968, Crane suffered a mental breakdown, returning to England for treatment, where he spent three or four months at the mental hospital in Banstead, Surrey.  Crane rejoined the band, but they effectively disintegrated on another tour of the U.S.A. in June of 1969 when leader Arthur Brown temporarily disappeared to a commune, leaving drummer Carl Palmer and Crane to leave and form Atomic Rooster.  Playing their first concert at the Lyceum in London on August 29th, 1969, headlining above Deep Purple, Atomic Rooster released their first eponymous album in 1970, before Carl Palmer left to join Emerson, Lake, andPalmer, that same year.  Atomic Rooster enjoyed success with two hit singles in 1971: Tomorrow Night (written by Crane), and Devil's Answer.  From at least 1968, Crane had been suffering from manic depression (now known as bipolar disorder), necessitating several periods of treatment at both in- and outpatient mental-health facilities.  As well as continuing work with his own band, Crane collaborated with other musicians on a number of albums, including Rory Gallagher, Arthur Brown, and Peter Green.  Atomic Rooster's final album was the relatively-unsuccessful Headline News in 1983, after which Crane disbanded Atomic Rooster.  In 1984, he joined Ray Dorset, Peter Green, and Jeff Whittaker, under the name Katmandu, releasing the one-off album, A Case for the Blues.  Crane joined Dexy's Midnight Runners in 1985, playing piano on their album, Don't Stand Me Down, and two singles, one becoming the theme for the BBC television series, Brush Strokes.  Dexy's disbanded in 1987.  Crane intended to form Atomic Rooster again, planning a German tour for 1989, but - on February 14th,1989 - he was found dead from a deliberate overdose of Anadin tablets, leaving behind his wife, Jean.  Vincent Crane was 45 years old.

Isabella Blow

Isabella Blow - who was born on November 19th, 1958, in Marylebone, London, England - was an English magazine editor.  Born as Isabella Delves Broughton, she was the eldest child of Major Sir Evelyn Delves Broughton, a military officer, and his second wife, Helen Mary Shore, a barrister.  Blow had two sisters, Julia and Lavinia; her brother, John, drowned in the family's swimming pool at the age of two, which had a profound effect on her.  In 1972, when she was fourteen, Blow's parents separated, with her mother departing the family home and leaving her with her father with whom she didn't get on.  After doing 'A'-levels, Blow enrolled at secretarial college and took various odd jobs.  In 1979, she moved to New York City, studying Ancient Chinese Art at Columbia University for a year, before moving to Texas, where she worked for the fashion designer, Guy Laroche.  In 1981, Blow married her first husband, Nicholas Taylor (whom she divorced in 1983), and was introduced to the editor of U.S. Vogue, Anna Wintour, soon becoming her assistant at the magazine.  Returning to London in 1986, she began working for Michael Roberts, the fashion director of Tatler and The Sunday Times 'Style' magazines.  In 1989, Blow married her second husband, the barrister and art dealer, Detmar Hamilton Blow.  Her wedding headdress was designed by milliner Philip Treacy, whose talent she recognised, and she set him up in business at her London flat.  Wearing Treacy's hats became a part of her flamboyant style.  In 1993, Blow worked with photographer Steven Meisel on his Babes in London shoot.  Blow discovered the fashion designer Alexander McQueen (who committed suicide in 2010), and launched the career of the model Sophie Dahl.  She supported both the fashion- and art-worlds, with the artists Tim Noble and Sue Webster creating a shadow portrait of her which was displayed in the National Portrait Gallery.  In 2002, she was the subject of an exhibition entitled When Philip met Isabella, which featured drawings and photographs of her wearing Treacy's hats.  Blow was also by now the fashion editor of Tatler, and consulted for DuPont Lycra, Lacoste, and Swarovski.  In 2004, she had an acting cameo in the film, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.  She and her second husband separated that year, with both partners going on to have affairs, although they reconciled eighteen months later.  During this time, Blow was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, undergoing electroconvulsive therapy for the condition.  She continued to work on projects, but was soon afterwards diagnosed with ovarian cancer.  She was upset that Alexander McQueen didn't take her along when he sold his brand to Gucci.  Blow's increasing depression was exacerbated by financial troubles and finding out she was infertile.  In 2006, she made two suicide attempts, the second of which led to her breaking both ankles, and several more in 2007.  On May 5th, 2007 - at a party at her home in Hilles House, Stroud, Gloucestershire - Blow announced that she was going shopping.  Instead, her sister found her collapsed on the bathroom floor.  She was rushed to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, where she died the next day.  Initially reported to be from ovarian cancer, Blow's death was ruled to be a suicide after ingesting the weedkiller, paraquat.  Isabella Blow was 48 years old.

Margot Kidder

Margaret Ruth Kidder - who was born on October 17th, 1948, in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada - was a Canadian-American actress and activist.  One of five children, she moved frequently throughout Canada due to her father's occupation as an explosives expert and engineer.  At age twelve, her mother took Kidder to New York to see the musical Bye Bye Birdie, which stimulated her interest in theatre and film.  At fourteen, Kidder attempted suicide by swallowing a bottle of codeine capsules after her boyfriend broke up with her.  About this time, she took up acting, graduating from high school in Toronto in 1966, the same year in which she had an illegal abortion after finding herself pregnant.  Kidder then relocated to Vancouver to study at the University of British Columbia, but dropped out after one year, returning to Toronto to work as a model.  Kidder made her film debut in the 1968 Canadian film The Best Damn Fiddler from Calabogie to Kaladar.  Her 1969 appearance in the drama series Corwin earned her a Canadian Film Award for "outstanding new talent".  In the 1970s, Kidder began a relationship with the film director Brian De Palma, and he cast her in the lead role in his acclaimed 1973 film, Sisters.  Kidder won two Canadian Film Awards for Best Actress in 1974, and that same year made her directorial debut with the 50-minute film, Again.  In 1975, she was hired to direct a documentary short film about the making of the film The Missouri Breaks, but was fired from the project.  After becoming romantically involved with the novelist and director Thomas McGuane, Kidder gave birth to their daughter, Maggie, in October, 1975.  The couple married on August 2nd, 1976, but divorced on July 21st, 1977.  In 1978, Kidder was cast in her most-iconic role as Lois Lane in the box-office smash, Superman, winning a Saturn Award for Best Actress in the process.  The Amityville Horror in 1979 further cemented Kidder as one of Hollywood's leading ladies.  She married the actor John Heard that year, but they separated after only six days of marriage, and divorced in 1980.  The 1980s saw Kidder star in three sequels to the original Superman film.  Early in the decade, she was romantically linked to the comedian Eddie Murphy and the Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau, although neither relationship lasted long.  In 1984, she produced and starred in the Canadian T.V. film, Louisiana, having already married the film's director Phillipe de Broca in France in 1983.  Once again, this marriage - Kidder's third and final - was shortlived, ending in divorce in 1984.  Kidder received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder in 1988, although she rejected the recommended lithium treatment.  1990 saw her seriously injured in a car accident on the set of a T.V. series she was making, rendering her partially paralysed for a while, and unable to work for two years.  The lawsuit she launched, from which she received no settlement, left her in subsequent financial difficulties.  Whilst working on her autobiography on her laptop computer in April, 1996, a virus wiped out all her hard work, and she travelled to California hoping a company there would be able to retrieve the lost work.  They were unsuccessful, and Kidder then entered a manic state, disappearing for four days.  She was found in a distressed state, having lost caps on her teeth after an attempted rape, and was placed in psychiatric care.  However, Kidder continued to act regularly up until 2017, as well as lending her support to environmental and anti-nuclear causes.  She became an American citizen in 2005, and spent her later years living alone with her dogs in a log cabin.  On May 13th, 2018, Kidder was visited by her friend, Joan Kesich, who found her unresponsive at her home in Livingston, Montana.  Kidder's agent initially stated that, "she passed away peacefully in her sleep", but an inquest later revealed her death was a suicide as "a result of a self-inflicted drug and alcohol overdose".  Kidder was cremated, and her ashes scattered at her favourite locations in Canada, as well as in the wilds of Montana, amongst the bears and wolves she so loved.  Margot Kidder was 69 years old.

Angela Scoular

Angela Margaret Scoular - who was born on November 8th, 1945, in London, England - was an English actress and "Bond Girl".  Her father was an engineer, and she was the niece of the Australian-born actress, Margaret Johnston, who encouraged her to take up acting.  After attending St. George's School in Harpenden, and Queen's College in Harley Street, London, Scoular studied at RADA.  Her first acting role was on the television series No Hiding Place in 1963.  A few more T.V. roles culminated in her landing the part of "Buttercup" in the 1967 James Bond film, Casino Royale.  That same year, Scoular played the lead role of "Cathy" in a BBC adaption of Wuthering Heights.  In 1969, she once again became a "Bond Girl", when she played "Ruby" in On Her Majesty's Secret Service.  Numerous more parts followed, including a stint in Coronation Street in 1972.  Scoular met the actor Leslie Phillips in 1976 when they appeared in a play together, moving in together the following year.  At the time, Phillips, who was 21 years her senior, was still married to his first wife, who had been crippled by a stroke, whilst Scoular was pregnant with another actor's child.  They raised her son, Daniel, together, and Scoular became stepmother to Phillips's four children.  After Phillips's first wife died in a house fire in 1981, he married Scoular in 1982.  In later years, Scoular had prominent parts in the BBC series You Rang, M'Lord? from 1988 to 1993, and As Time Goes By in 1996.  By this time, she was drinking heavily, and had been suffering from anorexia nervosa and mood swings.  In 1992, she attempted to commit suicide by slashing her wrists.  She was found by her husband, who said that he had saved her from being sectioned in a psychiatric hospital years earlier.  Scoular was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2008; despite being declared cancer-free after treatment, she was haunted by thoughts of it returning.  In early 2011, she was arrested for drink-driving after crashing her car in Wales.  On April 11th, 2011, at her home in Maida Vale, Scoular, suffering from severe depression, ingested drain cleaner, which contained 91% sulphuric acid, also pouring it over her body, causing non-survivable 40% burns to her throat, body, and dietary tract.  She was pronounced dead at a Central London hospital at 5.28 p.m. that day.  A coroner's inquest concluded that Scoular killed herself "while the balance of her mind was disturbed", curiously adding that the death was not a suicide.  The cause of death was listed as "ingestion of a corrosive substance and multiple fractures".  At the time of her death, Scoular was on medication for bipolar disorder, had anxiety about debts, and was drinking between 150 and 210 units of alcohol a week.  Angela Scoular was 65 years old.

Dickon Young

Dickon Young - who was born in January of 1963 - was an English stage manager, rigger, and carpenter, who worked for the Royal Shakespeare Company.  He was the first of two sons born to the actress Kate O'Mara, and was raised for a time by her first husband, the actor Jeremy Young, and took on Young's surname.  It only emerged after Dickon's death that his biological father was another actor, Ian Cullen, who had nothing to do with either Dickon or his mother after his birth.  As a child, Young was frequently taken around the country by his actress mother, and he was reported as resenting the more stable family life which seemed to be being lived by his biological father with his wife and three children.  Dickon had a brother, Patrick, who was born two years after he was, but at this time his mother was struggling to make ends meet, and so gave the boy up for adoption.  At the age of 21, Young met the actress Jenny Agutter - then ten years his senior - whilst working as a stage manager at the Royal Shakespeare Company, and they moved into her flat together in Pimlico, London.  He also worked as a rigger and carpenter at the R.S.C., before he moved to Los Angeles in the U.S. with Agutter, where he started a set-building company; he and Agutter separated in 1986.  Returning to England, he moved in with a girlfriend in Somerset and formed a company that built treehouses.  There were increasing signs that he was unwell, as he became a heavy drinker and cannabis user, at first becoming depressed and withdrawn, and then showing signs of manic depression; he was medicated for mental-health problems in the early 2000s.  His violent behaviour led to him splitting from his girlfriend, and he frequently thereafter returned to his mother's home, eventually moving in with her.  In 2010, Young was hit by a car whilst walking his dog (the dog died), resulting in multiple fractures, the subsequent brain damage he suffered affecting his balance and leaving him unable to work, and he began to drink more heavily.  In September of 2012, Young's mother was diagnosed with pneumonia, with which he struggled to cope.  That October, police were called to his mother's house after heated arguments between the pair, and he was also arrested for causing a breach of the peace whilst drunk at his flat in Stratford in November.  On December 31st, 2012, a neighbour smelt an "unpleasant odour" coming from Kate O'Mara's garage in Long Marston, Warwickshire, and opened the door to find Dickon Young's body hanging from the roof.  It is thought he may have been dead for nearly three weeks, as he had not contacted his mother since December 8th.  At the inquest into his death, his aunt Belinda Cochrane, also an actress, said: "He was a very troubled soul for a very long time.  He had a lot of talent that was wasted.  He was a lovely person."  Dickon Young was 49 years old.

Pete Shaughnessy

Peter Anthony Shaughnessy - who was born on September 14th, 1962, in South London, England - was a British mental-health activist and the founder of the Reclaim Bedlam and Mad Pride organisations.  After studying drama at college, he worked in a children's home and as a carer for the disabled, before becoming a bus driver in London.  In April, 1992, Shaughnessy was struck on the head with an iron bar after coming to the aid of a bus conductor who was being assaulted.  Shortly thereafter, he went on a hunger strike outside his bus garage in protest at privatisation of the service.  By the end of the year, he was hospitalised, after being diagnosed with manic depression.  Shaughnessy's depressive tendencies were further exacerbated when his sister was murdered by her boyfriend in Brixton, and he was then sectioned after hitting a policeman.  In 1997, Shaughnessy organised a Reclaim Bedlam campaign, initially to protest against anniversary celebrations of the Bethlem Hospital, thinking that the many unhappy experiences of 'Bedlam' patients warranted commemoration rather than celebration.  In 1999, he founded Mad Pride, campaigning for greater understanding of the 'mentally ill'.  During 2000, they helped, with punk-style campaigns and humour, to prevent several unpleasant changes to the Mental Health Act.  On December 15th, 2002, Shaughnessy committed suicide by stepping in front of a train at Battersea Park Railway Station in London.  On Christmas Eve that year, more than three-hundred people packed into St. Thomas More Church in East Dulwich for his funeral service.  Pete Shaughnessy was just 40 years old.

Boon Gould

Rowland Charles Gould - usually known as Boon Gould - was an English musician and songwriter.  Born on March 4th, 1955, in Shanklin, Isle of Wight, England, he was a guitarist and occasional saxophone player with the pop band, Level 42; his brother, Phil Gould, was the drummer in the band.  Boon Gould played on Level 42's first seven studio albums, before leaving the band, along with his brother, in 1987.  Gould had had a period of sustained illness, resulting in nervous exhaustion and suffering from panic attacks whilst on stage.  After leaving Level 42, Gould recorded two solo albums under the name Zen Gangsters.  In October, 2012, he performed in public with Level 42 for the first time in 25 years, at a one-off show in Bristol, U.K.  In 2018, Gould was asked to perform jury service, which caused him to become very agitated and damage the family home, before disappearing, sparking a police search.  On April 30th, 2019, Boon Gould's body was found hanged at a friend's house in Uffculme, Devon, England.  An inquest found a small amount of alcohol was in his body at death, although he had been drinking quite heavily for many years.  He had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and had suffered from depression for much of his life.  Boon Gould was 64 years old, and left behind a wife, Moira.

Screaming Lord Sutch

David Edward Such, who was born on November 10th, 1940, in Hampstead, London, England, was an English musician and serial parliamentary candidate.  In the 1960s, inspired by Screamin' Jay Hawkins, he changed his stage name to "Screaming Lord Sutch, 3rd Earl of Harrow", despite having no connections to the peerage.  Such released a series of records throughout his life, with little commercial success, and despite a self-professed lack of vocal talent; he and his band The Savages had a horror-themed stage show in which Sutch would dress up as Jack the Ripper or appear out of a coffin. Sutch's 1970 album, Lord Sutch and Heavy Friends, was voted in a 1998 BBC poll as the worst album of all time.
Sutch appeared as an election candidate for various political parties in the 1960s and '70s, before forming the Official Monster Raving Loony Party in 1983, and declaring himself leader.  In all, he appeared in 40 elections between 1963 and 1997, winning none, with his highest vote share being in the Rotherham by-election of 1994, when his party received 1,114 votes, for a 4.2% votes share.
Such had a history of depression, and committed suicide by hanging on June 16th, 1999, at his mother's home in Harrow, Greater London, England.  He was 58 years old.  At the inquest, his fiancee Yvonne Elwood said he had, "manic depression".  Such was survived by a son, Tristan Lord Gwynne Sutch, who was born in 1975 to American model, Than Rendessy.

Woolly Wolstenholme

Stuart John "Woolly" Wolstenholme was a musician, singer, and songwriter.   Born on April 15th, 1947, in Chadderton, Lancashire, England, he was best-known as a member of the English rock band, Barclay James Harvest, which he formed with three others in 1967.  Some of Woolly's early compositions - "The Sun Will Never Shine", "Happy Old World", and "Ball And Chain" - had an introverted and melancholy feel.  Barclay James Harvest were popular on the college circuit, but their records sold relatively poorly, and they were dropped by EMI in 1973, although quickly signed up by Polydor.  In 1979, dissatisfied with the band's musical direction, Wolstenholme left Barclay James Harvest to make one album of his own, Maestoso, before leaving the music business entirely.  In the 1980s, after Woolly's departure, Barclay James Harvest's popularity peaked, particularly in Germany, where they played to 175,000 people at Berlin's Reichstag building.  Wolstenholme subsequently ran an organic farm with his wife, Jill, for several years - first in Lancashire, and then in west Wales.  Bumping into his former B.J.H. bandmate John Lees in 1998, the two formed John Lees' Barclay James Harvest, which made several albums and toured extensively over the next few years.  This was one of Woolly's most-creative periods, as he also formed his own band, Maestoso, recording and occasionally playing live with them, in addition to B.J.H. duties.  Often a livewire on stage, Wolstenholme also had dark periods, being hospitalised for a period with depression in 2003, and was diagnosed with manic-depression or bipolar disorder.  In November of 2010, several Barclay James Harvest concerts were cancelled, as Woolly was suffering from a recurrence of his depressive illness.  He was expected to recover, but he sadly committed suicide on December 13th, 2010.  Stuart Wolstenholme was 63 years old.  He was divorced from his wife, Jill, but was survived by his partner, Sue, and his mother and sister.